Shelece Navidad

People ask me sometimes where my name comes from.

I wish I had a cool story to tell. The real story is pretty short. There was a girl in our ward in California when I was born. Her name was Shelece. My parents thought it was a pretty name. The end!

No one is ever satisfied with this story. But where does your name come from, people ask? Sometimes they'll guess a place. Someone was convinced once that it was a Jewish name. I've had other people guess that it's French.

That's when I tell them the truth: it is a Utah Mormon name. A random mashup of two names, as popularized in Stephenie Meyer's book Breaking Dawn (don't forget, she's a Mormon!). Renesmee? Totally a Utah Mormon name! And I don't even know the two names that went into my name. One of them is clearly Elise. But where did the "Sh" come from? Sharon? Charlotte?

I love my name, but I do have one small regret, in that it has no meaning behind it. It's not referenced in any baby names list I've ever seen, and no one has any clue what it means.

One of my friends in the grad lab told her husband about me. He gave me a new nickname: Shelece Navidad. Very appropriate for the season. :) I started wondering-what does the Spanish word Feliz mean anyways? I know Feliz Navidad is Merry Christmas, but what does Feliz mean? I put it into google translator. Turns out... it means "happy." :)

I like that. I'm claiming it. From here on out, if anyone asks, Shelece does mean something.

HAPPY!